Method of forming loops



Filed May l0, 1946 I. R. MITCHELL Patented Dec. 31, 1946 U'Nrrao l 'r MEEHD F FEMING LPS Irvin B ll/iitchel, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to A. Leschen & Sons Rope Company, St. Louis, Mio., a corporation of Missouri appagante May 10, i946, serali No. erases 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a method of forming the loop which is usually found at the end of a braided or woven rope sling, and has for its principal object to produce such a loop which contains throughout the same number of braided members as the sling body, thus giving it the same strength as the sling body, both in the loop itself and also where the loop joins the main body of the rope sling. An additional advan'tage of my method is that it permits the spliced portion of the sling body where the loop ends are tucked, or inserted, to be shorter, and more flexible, than is the case with loops made in accordance with previously known methods.

It is to be understood that a loop may be formed in accordance with my method at the end of any braided sling, regardless of the number of members braided therein, but for the purpose of this specification I am illustrating and del scribing it as associated with a sling having eight parts, or members.

In the drawing- Fig. l is a longitudinal View of a braided sling having an ordinary loop at one end and with the braided members free at the opposite end.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged View of the sling with its free end bent back upon itself to illustrate the rst step of my method of forming a loop.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing certain of the members comprising the sling withdrawn from the loop rand tracers substituted therefor.

Fig. 4 is a similar view illustrating the step of re-inserting the withdrawn members into the loop in a reverse direction to that they originally occupied and the tracers being withdrawn as the members are re-inserted.

Fig. 5 is a similar view illustrating the loop as it appears when the withdrawn members have been re-inserted therein and the tracers have been withdrawn from the loop.

Fig. 6 is a similar view illustrating the method of incorporating the ends of the re'inserted members into the sling body.

Fig. 'l is a View of the loop completed in accordance with my method and serving applied to cover free ends of members.

My method comprises bending the free end A of the sling body B back upon itself to form a loop-shaped portion C, as illustrated in Fig. 2. As said before, for the purpose of this specification I have illustrated my method as used in connection with a sling body having eight members, and I divide these into two groups, one containing four members l and the other four members 2. It is not, however, essentialv that there be the same number of members in each group. While the members I and 2 would ordinarily be of the same length, in order to more clearly distinguish between them in the drawing I have shown the members i as being slightly longer than the members 2 (Fig. 2) I prefer to take one member of each pair so as not to destroy the Weave and to balance, or equalize, the weave.

As the next step in my method I unbraid, or withdraw, from the sling the members 2 for a distance equal to the entire circumference of the loop plus a short portion of the sling body, and as I withdraw each member 2,1 substitute in its place a tracer 3, preferably of a differentmaterial or color for easy discernment, which tracers I have illustrated in broken lines in Figs. 3 and 4. When the members 2 have been withdrawn from the loop and the tracers 3 substituted therefor, the loop will have assumed the aspect shown in Fig. 3, with the tracers 3 extending along the paths formerly occupied by the members 2.

I now proceed to 1re-insert the members 2 into the loop in a reverse direction to that they formerly occupied (Fig. 4), and then, as I gradually withdrawthe tracers 3 I introduce the free ends of the members 2 into the paths which are being vacated by said tracers 3 and draw them alongv said paths; that is to say, the members 2 are put back preferably into their original positions along the paths which have been occupied by the tracers 3. When the members 2 have been reinserted, their ends leave the loop at the points 4, as illustrated in Fig. 5.

With the members I and 2 now in the position shown in Fig. 5, I proceedto tuck the free ends thereof into the sling body B at any conveniently offered interstices, preferably to a distance at least one node into the sling body and awayfrom the loop, so that the free ends of said members l and '2 are snugly secured through frictional engagement with the rope members. When all of the free ends of the members l and 2 have been tucked into the sling body in this manner, as shown in Fig. 6, or placed in any convenient lmanner around the sling body, that portion of the lsling body adjacent the loop is served with wire, or strand, or any other serving material E in a manner which is well known in the art and will not, therefore, be described here, to cover the inserted ends for a better appearance and also to facilitate handling;

From the above it is obvious that the entire end loop now has the same number of members, braided or woven in the same way, as the sling body itself, and that therefore the sling has uniform strength throughout.

I claim: Y

1. The method of forming an end loop on a braided or Woven sling which comprises bending a free end of said sling into loop shape, withdrawing certain of its component members from said loop and substituting therefor elements foreign to said loop, re-inserting said withdrawn members in said loop in a direction reverse to that which they originally followed, removing said foreign elements, and securing the ends of all the component members of said loop to the sling body.

2. The method of forming an end loop on a braided or Woven sling which comprises bending a free end of said sling into loop shape, dividing the component members of said loop into groups, withdrawing the members of one group from said loop and substituting for said withdrawn members elements foreign to said loop, re-inserting 4 said withdrawn members in said loop in a direction reverse to that which they originally followed, removing said foreign elements, and securing the ends of all the component members oi said loop to the sling body.

3. The method of forming an end loop on a braided or Woven sling which comprises bending a free end of said sling into loop shape, dividing the component members of said loop into groups, withdrawing the members of one group from said loop and substituting tracer elements for said withdrawn members, re-inserting said Withdrawn members in said loop in a direction reverse to that which they originally followed and simultaneously removing said tracer elements so that said re-inserted members occupy the positions vacated by said tracer elements, and securing the ends of all the component members of said loop to the sling body.

IRVIN R. MITCHELL. 

